Is corn the new gluten?

Andrea Rossi, B.Sc., RHN, R.BIE

May 23, 2019

Digestive Health

Like gluten, corn – and its many derivatives are in everything. No joke – EVERYTHING.

From packaged foods to dairy products and chewing gum. It’s even in so many of your favourite household, health and beauty products — nooo, not my toothpaste, aspirin, perfume, shampoo and makeup?!

Ever get a hint of popcorn when you lick an envelope to seal it? Yep, corn’s in the adhesive strip too. (told you it was in literally EVERYTHING!)

Just take a look at the ingredient list of most packaged or processed foods, and you’ll surely recognize a few sources of it: cornstarch, corn oil, and the often-vilified – high-fructose corn syrup, also known as glucose-fructose.

Similar to how gluten is sometimes camouflaged by other names (like ‘malt’ and ‘durum semolina’), corn can also hide by assuming other identities such as dextrose, dextrin, modified starch, ascorbic acid, and cellulose.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, even when corn is not actually in the food, it’s now used in plastic containers that hold our food. Seriously?!

Ok, but what’s really wrong with corn?!

C’mon – a plate of nachos at the pub, fresh corn on the cob, hot buttered popcorn at the movies…?!

Although corn is often referred to as a “healthy” food, just like gluten, it can cause a leaky gut. Wait, what…a gut that leaks?

If you’re new to the concept of leaky gut, you’re going to want to read my blog post explaining all about it here.

If your intestinal wall is damaged, thinned, or has gaps in it – known as impaired intestinal permeability (ie. Leaky gut), the breakdown and absorption of the food you eat is also impaired.

Partially digested compounds, bacteria, and chemicals that shouldn’t be absorbed can quite literally “leak” across the intestinal membrane and into your bloodstream.

This is because the protein in corn – zein, can look like gluten to a person’s body, and those who are already sensitive to gluten can “cross-react” to corn.

And then there’s high-fructose corn syrup (HCFS)…75% sweeter than sugar and cheap to make.

But, as we mentioned, corn and its derivatives (much like gluten) have made their way into everything, especially when it comes to processed foods – which are designed by food manufacturers to be tasty, yet cheap.

This includes our unassuming salad dressings, innocent pasta sauces and dip-worthy condiments – that we love to dunk our corn tortilla chips in!

Here’s the thing: even if you’re diligent about avoiding packaged foods and generally stick to a regime of whole fruits, veggies, and some high quality animal products…corn can still sneak into your otherwise healthy daily diet!

Just remember this: what you eat also eats! So, unless an animal food product is certified as “grass fed”, most poultry and livestock are fed corn – which is usually GMO too.

Not everyone that is sensitive to gluten will also be sensitive to corn. However, if you’re still experiencing health issues or symptoms of a poorly functioning digestive system after removing gluten from your diet, you might want to consider removing corn from your diet for 2 weeks to see if your symptoms improve.

Making just a few small changes in your health routine can often bring about a big, positive impact. Try reducing the amount of corn in your life to see how it makes you feel.

Conclusion

So do I think it’s safe to eat corn if you’re gluten sensitive?

Ultimately this is a very individualized answer for me. Through muscle testing I’m able to determine how someone interacts on an energetic level with specific foods. The short answer is no, not all those who react to gluten react to corn.

However, one of the biggest problems is that just by removing gluten doesn’t heal the damage already done. And so many people who react to gluten also react to corn.

Most people have eaten gluten for many years before they remove it from their diets and feel much better. However, often they still struggle with food sensitivities and digestive issues. This is because they still have residual damage to their digestive system and gut lining which hasn’t been healed.

Until you heal the leaky gut, regrow your villi in your digestive system, and rebalance your gut microbiota, your immune system will continue to be on high alert and react to anything is thinks might be harmful to you; gluten, corn, or potentially all grains and pseudo grains in general.

If you’ve removed gluten from your diet but still are struggling with digestive issues, I encourage you to book in a free 30 min consultation with me by entering your information below. During this session I go over your Whole Body Health Profile to see where the main imbalances are in your body and if you still need gut healing.B